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Week 19 in the CFL which means one thing, Grey Cup is just around the corner. As the weather turns across Canada, the playoff picture has all but solidified. The teams have been decided, some long ago, but the placement, who gets home-field advantage, that’s up for grabs. In the West, Edmonton has found their groove along with Saskatchewan. Winnipeg is suffering injuries late, and Toronto is, well, a team out East.

The question Stamps fans are wondering–has the team regressed? After two back-to-back losses against divisional rivals, and another one next week, is this team going to disappoint in the post-season for a third straight year?

The short turnaround with two games in five days has ended the Stampeders’ pre-season a full 2.5 weeks before the season opener. That didn’t give the club the best shot to prepare for some key battles, particularly at backup QB. Here are some highlights as I saw it over the first two pre-season games.

Usually, you expect John Hufnagel to go wild on Canadian OL talent, but this year there was scant on the O-side of the football (he must think we can skip a year in O-Line development.) What we have seen before, however, is the dip into new Canadians, American players picking up their dual-citizenship. This year’s first-round draft, which the Stamps traded up for, was Randy Colling, a huge DL who’s played in the AFL the past 4 years.

The 2016 Calgary Stampeders training camp is set to open soon, with rookie camp opening tomorrow. There’re number of personnel changes which means more starting spots open on the roster. There hasn’t been this much movement of players in recent memory, which should give new head coach Dave Dickenson a chance to put his mark on the team but may also prove challenging as he Phil spots left by veterans. As players start to arrive in the city, training camp coaches are showing up as well and there are some interesting surprises.

It’s that time of year again when hockey (should be) is done, and the football season is starting. The Calgary Stampeders look to defend their Grey Cup championship this year and we’ll have a number of vets to help them. Despite some question marks about the offensive line, we have a strong team that could very well content again. In fact I would say most fans expect them to be back at the finally November.

Look back here for updates on surprising additions and count as we countdown to the season opener in one month.

The Calgary Stampeders added more talent to the fold in this year’s Canadian draft class. They had a number of picks in the first two rounds, yet chose to hang on to them all and did not trade up or down. In fact, there was very little movement to speak of this year among all teams. The steal is probably WR, Lemar Durant was slated to perhaps go in the first round, but Calgary picked him up with the last pick of the Second.

With the buzz surrounding the 2014 CFL Draft, with big splashes made by the Stampeders to secure the #1 pick while giving up Jon Gott, the news lately is surrounding the CFLPA vs CFL and their contract negotiations.

The two sides, as we now know, are miles apart. Almost 50% for total team cap, and 5x yearly increase to the cap. The CFLPA seems to be counteroffering too high, the CFL low.

CFL players aren’t paid well, but at the same time, the league doesn’t generate money like the NFL. Albeit, this is the healthiest the CFL has even been in terms of total revenue.

Look for some level of meeting in the middle, because right now, the two couldn’t be further apart. Here is the full statement from the Commissioner

From the 2012 Grey Cup team that collapsed when it mattered most but delighted fans throughout the season, the new 2013 season has fewer story lines than fans are used to. Sure, there’s the always obvious ‘quarterback controversy’ that generally dominates any team in a 8 team QB dependant league. Drew Tate declared #1 for the second year in a row (management really doesn’t want to be wrong on this one), with seasoned vet Kevin Glenn back at #2. Bo Levi Mitchell rounds out the depth chart at #3 (with intriguing possibilities at #4).

Pre-season served little for Tate’s confidence, he played poorly. Glenn played strong. Should we read much into this? No, it was the same last season. Tate will likely put it together but the leash will be short.

Some offensive changes on the O-Line with added depth and the odd change at receiver. The Stamps brought in former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Terence Jeffers-Harris to challenge for a spot. He was in the first wave of cuts from the roster thanks in part to the Stampeder depth, and the emergence of Tim Hawthorne in pre-season.

Defensively, the usual suspects challenge for roles with a bit more depth and size on the D-Line. It seems largely anti-climatic as the team preps for the June 28th, season opener vs. BC. But maybe that’s a good things. Less in the way of distractions and more in the way of gelling as a team to come out of the gate running. Things look good (assuming last year’s success translates well to this year) but only time will tell how well the Stamps will fair this 2013 season.